Phil Kessel of the United States puts in his third goal against Slovenia during the Men’s Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day nine of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Shayba Arena on Feb. 16.
Julian Finney — Getty Images

2014 WINTER OLYMPICS

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The U.S. men’s hockey team finished its preliminary round undefeated Sunday following an easy 5-1 victory over Slovenia, showing no letdown from its emotional shootout win over Russia 24 hours earlier.

Phil Kessel bagged a hat trick while Ryan McDonagh and David Backes added the others as Team USA romped.

“It’s pretty cool,” said McDonagh, the New York Rangers defenseman. “I’m just glad we got the win here to get to the quarterfinals. I think down the road in my career it’ll mean a lot.”

Team USA finished undefeated in group play for the second consecutive Olympics. It won silver in 2010 at Vancouver.